Packing plant by-products, such as lungs, kidneys, hearts and other parts generally not consumed by humans, are often sold and used to make pet food. These by-products are initially at the body temperature of the butchered animal when removed therefrom, and are therefore highly susceptible to spoilage. Due to such potential for spoilage, the by-products have a very short life. The warm by-products must be quickly transported from the packing plant which slaughters the animal to the remote processing plant for conversion into pet food. Without such hurried pick up and delivery, the by-products become spoiled and must be discarded.
In a prior application, Ser. No. 746,241, filed June 18, 1985, now United States Letters Pat. No. 4,578,957, it was a primary objective of the invention to provide an on-site by-products chiller for lowering the temperature of fresh by-products, and thereby reducing potential for spoilage. See also U.S. Pat. No 4,577,466, issued Mar. 25, 1986.
A further objective of the prior invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,957 was the provision of an on-site method and apparatus for chilling by-products which would prolong the life of by-products for further processing.
Thus, the method and apparatus of the prior invention for chilling animal by-products at the point of slaughter allows the by-products to be stored without spoilage prior to being shipped for further processing.
This invention represents an improvement over the prior invention in several respects. importantly, in order to prevent spoilage of the hot slaughterhouse by-product, it is necessary that it be cooled as quickly as possible. It has now been found that cooling is substantially enhanced and thus the on-site by-products chiller substantially improved, if the slaughterhouse by-product is substantially size reduced, or in other words, slashed or cut, either prior to or simultaneously with, entry into the chiller. Thus, one primary objective of the improved chiller of the present invention is to provide an apparatus which will allow slashing of the slaugherhouse by-product as it enters the chiller, thereby substantially enhancing the cooling and chilling objectives of the apparatus. This, therefore, is a significant objective of the present invention.
Another improvement represented by the present invention relates to the inherent problems involved with the materials treated. Often the slaughterhouse by-product, such as lungs, kidneys and hearts have extraneous associated materials such as hair, fat, skin and the like. While ordinarily small amounts of these materials can be tolerated in pet foods, such materials, particularly fat globules when subjected to the chilling process change their consistency, and become more adherent in nature. They therefore tend to harden and coalesce, plugging the holes within the chiller drum, thus preventing effective circulation of the chilling liquid. It is therefore a primary objective of the improved chiller and method of the present invention to provide a strainer system which allows the fat globules and other extraneous material to be strained from the coolant prior to recirculation. In this manner the interfering material can be eliminated, quality of the by-product improved, and the chilling apparatus performance characteristic significantly enhanced. Thus, this is a second primary objective of the present invention.
A third and further improvement objective of the present invention is to provide a fluid level control float system which better allows maintenance of the chilling liquid within an effective, continuous flow circuit, without any surges, or dry pump operation, while at the same time maintaining pressure in a relatively constant manner. This simply allows liquid circulation, and thus cooling in a more efficient manner.